Fork In the Road - ReWrite
by John Storm
Summary: A rewrite of my old story. Two months after the breakup, a broken hearted Krystal has joined Star Wolf out of spite. Just as she starts getting comfortable, two old friends arrive to change her mind. Will Krystal listen to them or is she too stubborn to heed their advice? A quick one-shot. Please R&R.


I had the idea for this story about a week ago and decided to write it. At first I was just going to do this as a separate story to all of my other series. But then I decided that it would probably be better if I did it as a combination to my Star Ghost and Unknown Son series. There are elements from both series so if you have any questions please ask me in a review of PM me. I'll do my best to answer them.

This story takes place two years after Star Fox: Assault. It pertains to the Lucy and Krystal ending of Star Fox Command. Fox has just forced Krystal off the team and broke off his relationship with her two months prior.

Hope that you enjoy

* * *

Fork In The Road

Sargasso Station

"Bartender another beer please." A feminine voice calls from across the bar.

The overweight, middle-aged wolf bartender turns around and looks at the direction in the voice. The blue furred vixen sitting by herself at the other end of the bar waves her empty glass waiting for him to refill it. "You got it Krystal."

"Just hurry up Greg." The blue furred vixen shouts at the bartender.

Greg grabs a bottle and walks across the bar towards the beautiful vixen. Even with a wife and kids of his own the wolf cannot help but be attracted to Krystal. Her voluptuous curves are enough to drive any man crazy. The tight, blue flight suit she is wearing is just making it worst.

"Took you long enough Greg." Krystal shouts as Greg hands her the new beer.

Greg turns around and walks away amazed in the fact that no one else in the bar, every one of them males in their twenties or thirties with no wives, is not hitting on her. But he knows the reason: a certain feline named Panther Caruso who told everyone that if anyone messes with Krystal that he would kill them. Everyone here fears the feline, except for Wolf and Leon.

Greg can't help but feel sorry for Krystal. He thought that at least these guys here, including Panther, would at least give Krystal time to heal emotional after her recent heartbreak. After everything she's been through recently, being engaged to a famous vulpine only to have him break off their relationship a month before the weeding, she needs more time to heal. It's time that Panther isn't giving her.

Greg actually finds it humorous how determined Panther can be even when his prey is shutting him down. So far Krystal has turned down all of Panther's advances. Even Greg can see that Krystal has no feelings for Panther. It would surprise him if Krystal ever started dating. There are bets going around on how long it will be before Krystal kicks Panther in the nuts, even Greg has placed a bet down.

All eyes suddenly turn to the door as two males, one a large black wolf, the other an orange fox, walk into the bar. By the way they are dressed, both wearing civilian clothes, it is obvious that they are not part of Star Wolf and company in anyway.

The black wolf walks over to the bar, the same side as Krystal, and takes a seat on the bar stool next to her. The orange fox walks to the middle of the bar room like he is a security guard for the black wolf, which surprised Greg considering that the black wolf appears to be twice the orange foxes size.

A curious ape gets up from his booth and walks over to the fox. He pokes the fox in the chest. Surprisingly the fox doesn't even move. "Who are you guys? Don't you know that civilians are not welcome in these parts of space?"

A sadistic smile crosses the fox's face. The sight of it sends a chill down Greg's spine.

"My friend, my name is Scott McCloud. The black wolf over there is Johnny Storm."

Greg jumps back, his back against the wall. The legendary Scott McCloud and Johnny Storm in his bar, a scary thought. Everyone here knows their legends. Scott McCloud, the less famous older cousin of Fox McCloud, was rumored to be an even better combat pilot Fox. Known for his extraordinary Krav Maga fighting skills, famous for singlehandedly holding off an entire squadron of Aparoids during the Cornerian attack, saving the planet from certain annihilation, and feared by all criminals for his lack of compassion on evil. Jonathan "Johnny" Storm, the leader of the infamous, though now disbanded due to retirement, Star Ghost mercenary team. Believed to be the deadliest martal artist in both Lylat and the Genesis System, if not the entire galaxy, mainly because of his studies in the powerful and deadly style of Muay Thai, along with a few other martal arts, and legend for his defeat of the Tigeria leader Balthazar (A/N: Avengers – a future chapter), five Aparoid Dragoon's in one battle with only a sword (A/N: Avengers – a future chapter), and 10 Ammonites (A/N: a future project, Ghosts of War) with his bare hands.

Everyone in the bar does the same thing that Greg does at the sound of Johnny and Scott's name. Even though the two of them are outnumbered their reputations are enough to scare anyone from standing in their way. A cheshire smile forms on Scott's face as he sees the ape's face, the one that was poking him in the chest go pale. It takes all Scott has not to laugh as the ape's knees give way to his fear and he collapses on the ground. The ape is still conscious but fear is stopping him from doing anything.

Krystal, too absorbed in her beer to notice what is going on around her, in her emotional pain jumps at the sight of a black paw grabbing her beer and yanking it from her. The black fur leads Krystal to believe that it is Panther, standing over her shoulder, trying another advance. Krystal's starting to get very tired of him constantly hounding her. If Panther knew that she could read his mind, seeing that all his attempts to comfort her are really attempts to get in her pants, he would probably give up. But this is the last straw, no one touches Krystal's beer.

"DAMN IT PANTHER, CAN'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE FOR A MINUTE!"

Krystal spins around to strike Panther's jaw, hopefully breaking it. But instead of Panther, Krystal finds Johnny sitting next to her. It's too late for Krystal to stop the strike from connecting to Johnny. Fortunately, Johnny's quick reflexes save him from a nasty blow to the muzzle. Krystal gasps at the sight of her former brother in-law sitting next to her.

"Jonathan . . . what are you doing here? How the hell did you find me?"

Johnny smiles, "You should not have called Lucy and told her about your new employers."

"_Damn, I'm an idiot. And Lucy cannot keep a secret to save her life."_

Krystal can't help but smile at Johnny, she is happy to see him. "But that doesn't explain how you got in here? Only Star Wolf and company are allowed in Sargasso."

"I contacted Wolf and called in a favor. He owes me one for saving his life during the Ammonite War (A/N: future project Ghost of War). I was smart enough to know not to come here alone." Johnny says and points to Scott.

Krystal smiles, "Fara asked you to bring him didn't she?"

"Yes, she was afraid for my safety. I don't need him to get out of here alive but you know how convincing Fara is."

"True that, especially when she offers you some mating. I know that you cannot refuse that from her." Krystal says as casually as she can, which is not very well.

Johnny bursts out laughing. He knows it is true. When Fara offers him a chance to mate he's going to accept it. Johnny and Krystal laugh for at least a minute before finally getting serious. By then their sides hurt from laughing so hard.

"So . . . why are you . . . here Jonathan?"

Krystal watches as all sarcasm leaves Johnny's face in an instant to be replaced by seriousness. She doesn't need telepathy to know that he doesn't want to say it. Too bad for Krystal her telepathy isn't working very well right now anyway. Even though she's only had one beer it's enough to prevent her telepathy from working fully.

"Well Krystal," Johnny rubs the back of his head fur, "I heard that you were working for Star Wolf. Really, I mean Star Wolf, even I thought that you would never stoop that low."

"What are you talking about Johnny? After everything that Fox did to me why shouldn't I go work with his enemies?" Krystal shouts.

"Really Krystal, these are bad people that will stab you in the back when you're not looking." Johnny signs knowing that he's not going to get anywhere yelling at Krystal. "Look, I am not going to pretend that I know what you are going through. If I was you I'd be mad at Fox too. When I heard that Fox had forced you off the team and broke off the relationship I wanted to break his legs, like I told him I would right before you too starting dating (A/N: Avengers – future chapter).

"What stopped you Jonathan?" Krystal says with a smile.

"Fara did, she convinced me not to break his legs. And when Lucy told me the reason why he did it I decided to let it go. I agree with his reasons. He was afraid for your safety. I can understand that. There have been times when I have been afraid for Fara's safety. But I did not force her off the team. I don't agree with Fox doing that. It surprised me that Fox would even think about doing it."

"And now you understand why I'm here. These guys took me in when I had nowhere else to go. They helped me."

"No they didn't, Wolf and his team helped themselves. They do not care about you at all. You know it is the truth and you are denying it."

"Oh shut up Johnny. You don't know what you are talking about."

"No Krystal, you listen to me. I am here, though I do not want to be, to convince you to come home. You have family and friends back home who love you. You'll be much better off with us on Corneria than here amongst criminals."

"No Jonathan, I am not going anywhere Fox is."

Johnny sighs, "Fine Krystal, I give up. I can see that you are not going to listen to anything I have to say. You are so stubborn Krystal. I always knew that someday it would get you someplace where you did not want to be."

Krystal throws up her arms in disgust. "OF COURSE I AM NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO YOU JONATHAN! I AM SICK OF YOU ALWAYS BABYING ME! EVER SINCE I CAN REMEMBER YOU HAVE BEEN PROTECTING ME WHEN I DON'T NEED IT!" Krystal pauses to catch her breath. "I know why you do it Jonathan. You see me as my sister and have ever since your married her. Well guess what Johnny, JASMINE IS DEAD AND THE ONLY PERSON WHO MAYBE, I said maybe, miss her more than you is me. YOU ARE REMARRIED TO FARA, who I am deeply jealous of, AND BECAUSE OF IT I AM NO LONGER YOUR SISTER IN-LAW! I am my own woman. Get that through you thick head. You once said that you trusted my judgment. SO DO IT AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Krystal's outburst causes Johnny to jump back. He knew that Krystal has always had an aggressive side, but he has never seen her like this. Her ears pulled back and bearing her fangs. She is royally pissed off.

It takes a minute for Johnny to regain his composure. "You're right Krystal, I did say that. If you remember correctly, I said that when you and Fox started your relationship. I saw that you two were perfect together. It was then I trusted your judgment because I knew that you made the right choice." Johnny glares angrily at Krystal, like he could snap her neck, he probably would if she was a boy. "But this changes everything. By choosing to join Star Wolf you have shown me that you have the worst judgment of anyone I know."

Krystal stares at Johnny in disbelief. He's never raised his voice to her before. There's never been a reason to. Krystal can only watch as Johnny bows his head in shame, like what he's about to say is going to hurt them both.

"Krystal, it hurts me to do this but I have to do it for my family's sake and safety, as long as you are with Star Wolf I will not allow you to see Daniel."

Krystal's jaw drops. If she didn't already have a hold on the bar Krystal would've fall hard on the floor. She can't bring herself to believe her ears. Johnny distrust Star Wolf so much that he would deny Krystal to see her own nephew. This has to be a sick joke. There's no one Krystal loves more than Daniel. The wolf/fox hybrid is very precious to her. Daniel is the last thing Krystal has to remember Jasmine.

"You . . . you can't do that . . . Jonathan . . . you would deny me . . . the chance to . . . to see my own flesh and blood."

"Yes, Daniel is MY son. I can tell you that he misses deeply. But for his safety you will not see him. If you come anywhere near my house or Daniel then you had better not be part of Star Wolf or I WILL shoot you."

Johnny watches a tear roll down Krystal's cheek. He doesn't need his Cerinian abilities to see that his words have cut deeper than any sword ever could. But he knows that it has to be said. Deep down Johnny hopes that it is enough to convince Krystal to leave Star Wolf.

Scott watches everything from where he is standing. He can see Krystal crying from here. It hurts him to see Krystal, or any woman, break down like that. But he knows that Johnny had to do it. Scott can tell from here, though he can't see Johnny's face very well, that it's hurting him to say it almost as much as it's hurting Krystal. But unlike Krystal, Johnny is very good at hiding his emotions. He is almost impossible to read. If it wasn't for Scott's keen eyesight, he wouldn't be able to see the slight twitching expression on Johnny's face. It's the only clue that Scott is getting to Johnny's pain, but it is enough.

Out of the corner of his eye, Scott sees an ape take off running out of the bar. "_Oh crap, I bet he's going to get Panther. This is going to end with someone, particular Panther, getting his ass kicked. Oh well, I was hoping that I was going to get to break some idiot's jaw tonight."_

X

"Panther, come quick, we got a problem in the bar."

The sudden shout cause Panther to jump up from underneath his Wolfen and bang his head on the fuselage, leaving a nasty knot on his head. Panther slides out angry enough to break someone's neck. He stands up, dizzy from the blow, and looks over the ape groveling at his feet.

"Tell me boy, why did you come to me when you could have gone to Wolf. What happens in the bar is not my problem."

"Captain I think that this actually is your problem. Two men are in the bar harassing Krystal. One is a wolf and the other is a fox."

Panther takes off running full speed towards the bar. No one messes with Krystal. Anyone who does pays the ultimate price. Panther kicks down the bar room door and runs inside, getting everyone's attention. His expectations are immediately shattered when he sees who is there, and Krystal totally fine, except for a few tears running down her cheeks.

"_Damn, I love it when I'm right._" Scott thinks to himself.

Panther looks like he's about to pass out at the sight of his teammate and his old rival. He drops his favorite pistol. The sound of metal hitting the barroom floor can be heard throughout the room.

Johnny breaks the silence, "Panther Caruso, I see that you haven't gotten far in life. Still a scumbag I see."

"Johnny . . . what are you . . . doing here?" Panther manages to speak while backing up.

Three apes sitting all across the bar look at each other amazed at the sight of Panther cowering before the wolf. They look at each other very confused. Till now they respected Panther's courage.

"I thought that Panther didn't have any fear." The largest ape says.

"Apparently, the only man he fears is the wolf. Wonder why."

"Are you kidding me? Don't you guys know who that wolf is?" The smallest ape shouts looking confused at his comrades. "That is Johnny Storm, the deadliest martal artist in all of Lylat."

"The man who killed ten bears with his own hands. You mean that Johnny Storm."

"Yes, that's the one."

"Holy crap, no wonder Panther's afraid of him. I'd be afraid of looking at him wrong."

Panther stops backing up at the sight of Krystal's tears. Maybe he can use this to get into her pants. Couldn't hurt to try, nothing else has worked so far. It's like she what he is thinking. Panther gathers all the courage he can and walks up to Johnny hiding it. He stops inches away from Johnny's face and stares him down.

"I'm going to ask you one time to apologize to Krystal for making her cry or I'm going to break you in half."

A smile crosses Johnny's face. He turns to Krystal while keeping one eye on Panther. "You see Krystal, even an idiot can tell that this guy is faking it. He's just pretending to be brave and to care for you."

"_Damn that Wolf sense of Johnny's." _Panther thinks_._

"Panther, Johnny doesn't need the Wolf Sense to convince me." Krystal speaks up. "I can read your thoughts Panther. I know what you are thinking and your intentions. So drop the act Panther before Jonathan kicks your ass."

The courage that Panther's feeling leaves him to be replaced by fear. Fearing what Johnny will do to him Panther decides to strike first. Panther panics, forgetting his training and experience, and throws a right haymaker at Johnny. Johnny reacts instantly. He blocks with his left then turns the block into a strike by bringing his hand down full force on Panther's collar bone. Johnny follows with a knee to Panther's nuts. Panther squeals like a little girl. It feels like Johnny's just popped his family jewels. But Johnny doesn't stop there. He turns his left hand from Panther's collar bone to the back of his head, offering a good grip. Holding Panther's head up, Johnny smashes Panther's face with his right elbow again, and again, until he is satisfied. Johnny throws Panther aside once he's done with him.

Seeing Panther fall brings some satisfaction to Krystal. Secretly she's been wanting to see Panther get his butt kicked since she first met him. Though Krystal will admit that even she likes a bad boy Panther is a bit much. Panther constantly hounding her is starting to drive her crazy. Sometimes it sucks to be a beautiful vixen.

Krystal suddenly sees a nearby ape at the bar with a murderous look on his face. She doesn't need to read his mind to know what he's thinking. He grabs a bottle and charges at Johnny.

"JOHNNY WATCH OUT."

The warning isn't necessary. Johnny saw it coming before Krystal did. He rushes at the ape and smashes his right elbow into the ape's forehead. Krystal sees blood splatter as the ape flies against the bar.

Another ape charges Johnny from the front. Johnny ducks as the ape swings a bottle at his age. The bottle misses Johnny's head by miles. Johnny replies by bringing his elbow backwards into the ape's head. Johnny finishes him off with an uppercut to the jaw.

Scott, getting bored of not being in the fight, sees his opportunity to join the fight in the form of a wolf rushing at Johnny from behind with a knife. Johnny sees the wolf charging him, Scott knows that Johnny can handle it, easily, but there is no way that Scott is going to leave here without breaking some idiot. Scott steps in the wolf's path. He waits till the knife is inches away from his heart to dodge, then the knife doesn't come anywhere close. Scott grabs the wolf's knife hand and pulls him off balance. He then deliver's an elbow aimed directly behind the Wolf's knife arm elbow, breaking it. The wolf screams out in pain as his arm snaps like a twig. Scott finishes the wolf of with an elbow strike to the nose. The wolf collapses on the ground in a heap. Scott hears Johnny sigh behind him. Scott turns around and sees Johnny's shaking his head.

"What, I couldn't let you have all the fun Johnny." Scott shouts.

'Well you got your chance to prove it. On your right."

Scott looks to his right just in time to see a lizard rushing him. "_Too easy_."

Scott launches a kick aimed the lizard's chest. His foot hits the lizard in the solar flex, knocking the breath out of him. The lizard buckles over in pain as he tries to gasp for breath. Scott smiles as his fist impacts the lizard's chin, breaking it and knocking him out.

The rest of the bar jumps up to join the fight. But a quick growl from Johnny sends them all running. Everyone except for Johnny, Scott, and Krystal.

"Dang, I was expecting more of a fight." Johnny laughs.

"The fight is not over yet." A deep voice from a dark corner shouts.

Johnny and Scott both look to the corner as a large ape rises from a booth and walks out of the shadows. The gorilla towers over both Johnny and Scott. Johnny estimates him to be at least seven feet tall, and bulging with muscles. The gorilla walks up to Scott, ready to smash the vulpine to pieces.

Johnny steps forward to take on the gorilla but Scott reaches out his left arm, blocking Johnny. "You got to crush Panther. Let me break this bastard."

"Fine, he's yours."

Johnny steps back and takes a seat at the bar. He grabs a bottle of deer and downs it in a second. The alcohol hardly does anything to him. "Dang, compared to Cerinian brew this is weak. It's like comparing Bud Light to Moonshine."

The gorilla looks down at the small vulpine standing before him and starts laughing. He points and laughs Scott. Scott grabs the gorilla's finger and bends it back. The gorilla screams in pain as Scott forces the gorilla to his knees. Even on his knees the gorilla is taller than Scott. But Scott doesn't let that intimate him as he brings his knee into the gorilla's chin. The gorilla flies backwards and lands on a table behind it. The table gives way under the gorilla's weight and breaks into pieces.

The gorilla, enraged, grabs the table and throws it at Scott. Scott ducks just in time as the table flies over his head. "You're dead furball."

The gorilla charges Scott with the force of a freight train. Scott waits till the gorilla is almost on him to react. He dodges the gorilla's outstretched arms and grabs his shirt. Scott then falls backward and rolls, using the gorilla's own moment to throw him onto his back.

The gorilla jumps up, despite the pain in his back, and swings at Scott but finds nothing but air. He looks around and finds only Krystal and Johnny at the bar. "WHERE'D YOU GO YOU SON OF A BI . . ."

Before the gorilla can finish his sentence Scott jumps on the gorilla's back and wraps his arms around the gorilla's neck. The gorilla goes for Scott's arm but finds the vulpine's grip already doing its job. His vision goes blurry and his body goes limp before he can get a grip on Scott's arm. The gorilla slowly falls to the ground before completely passing out in a heap on the dirty, barroom floor.

That was too easy." Scott says with a smile.

"Really, I thought that you could've defeated him faster." Johnny taunts.

"Oh blow me Johnny."

Johnny and Scott walk out of the bar leaving Krystal behind. At first, Krystal just stands there thinking about what Johnny told her. She has to know if he is serious. Krystal is almost to the door when she feels a strong grip on her shoulder. She turns around and finds herself face to face with a busted Panther. His face is covered in blood and bruises. Krystal can even see that Panther's lost at least one fang. She can't help but smile as Panther tries to stand up straight but his shattered balls are stopping him.

"Krystal, please let me help you." Panther begs.

Krystal shakes her head thinking, "_Pathetic."_

Krystal responds by introducing her elbow to Panther's nose. The sound of the cartilage breaking brings a smile to Krystal's face. "Stay down kitty."

Krystal takes off after Johnny and Scott. She finds them standing just outside the door like they were waiting for her.

"I was beginning to wonder when you would follow." Johnny says with a discerning look.

"Johnny, I want to know if you mean what you said to me in there. Are you really going to stop me from seeing Daniel?"

"Krystal, I meant every word. As long as you are with Star Fox you will not see Daniel."

"Johnny, you can't do that. How can you stop me from seeing my nephew?"

"Simple, if you come anywhere near Daniel then either Fara or I will shoot you." Krystal looks at Johnny in disbelief.

"Trust me Krystal, he means it." Scott speaks up and grabs Johnny's arm to pull him away. "Let's get out of here before you say anything else that you'll regret."

Johnny and Scott leave Krystal behind without looking back. But Johnny doesn't need his eyes to know what is going on behind him. He can hear Krystal's hitting the floor and sobbing behind him. It hurts Johnny to have to do this but it has to be done.

"_I'm sorry Krystal. I hope that you'll come to eventually forgive me for this."_

* * *

A/N: In case you are wondering about the clone of Fara I encountered a small problem when I tried writing this story. It continues onto a future story that I have planned called Star Fox: Ghosts of War. The story revolves around me connecting my Star Ghost series and Unknown Son series. The problem is that in my Star Ghost series Fara is married to my OC Jonathan (Johnny) Storm, and in my Unknown Son series Fara is married to Wolf O'Donnell. I had to think of way that two Fara's could exist in the same universe.

I would like to thank my friend Troygroomes for the answer. A clone of the original Fara. In my story "Avengers" (which is still in progress), a clone is made of Fara by Andross (clone from the 1992 Comics) to get revenge on Wolf for failing to protect him from Star Fox. They knew that Wolf had a thing for Fara and used that for the clone to assassinate him.

They didn't count on Fara (clone) falling in love with Wolf. The clone Fara is the one in my Unknown Son series. Only a select few know about the clone, even fewer know that she is married to Wolf.

BTW, in case you are wondering who the Ammonites are that I mentioned while I was describing Johnny Storm, they are the villains in a future project I plan on working on called Ghosts of War. To sum them up, they are super humans that were enhanced due to the colonization of Mars. In the story they try to whip out any species they see as weaker than they are, which is almost all species. So you see for Johnny to defeat to defeat 10 Ammonites with his bare hands is a feat.

One last thing, if you were paying attention you would've noticed that Johnny mentioned Vixy, yes Fox's mother, explained to him the reason why Fox did what he did. In my Star Ghost series, Vixy is alive (and full blooded Cerinian), along with James. While I haven't gotten that far in my Avengers story yet, James and Vixy come out of retirement and work as unofficial members of the Star Ghost mercenary team.

* * *

Corneria, 7 and a half months later

"Dad watch out." Johnny turns his head just in time to see the baseball flying towards his head. Without even thinking Johnny reacts and catches the ball as it comes within inches of giving him a nasty knot on the head. The room goes deathly quiet as everyone, Fara, Jennifer, Alisha, Bill, Fay, Ashley (Bill and Fay's daughter), Scott, Lucy, and Vivian (Scott and Lucy's daughter) waits to see what Johnny's reaction is going to be.

Johnny glares at Daniel, who had tossed the ball to his little sister Jennifer. His father's glares makes the half wolf/half fox nearly fall over in fear. But instead of exploding in anger like everyone expected, a smile crosses the wolf's face. Johnny tosses the ball back to Daniel who is stunned hat he doesn't catch it.

"Daniel, take Jennifer and go outside and play before you break something."

"Y-y-y-yes dad." Daniel picks up the ball, grabs his little sister, and runs outside without looking back. Johnny can't help but laugh to himself.

Fay looks up and sees Ashley rise from the couch and walk towards the back door. "Where you going Ashley?"

"Outside, to make sure that Daniel and Jennifer stay out of trouble."

"Alright, just be sure to grab a coat Ashley." Fay answers trying to probe any further. "This is the first time I've seen it snow on Corneria in a decade.

Ashley grabs the closest coat she can, which just happens to be the smallest coat and barely fits her. She appears to be in a rush.

"Are you sure about that Ashley?" Bill says a little cockily. "You just want to get away from Johnny before he explodes.

"Uh no dad." Ashely slowly backs away towards the door. "I just, uh, want to make sure that Daniel and Jennifer don't break anything."

Johnny shakes his head laughing. "Thanks for the offer Ashley but I don't think that my children need a preteen babysitter."

"Then, I need some, uh, fresh air." Jennifer answers then runs out the door.

"Wow, didn't know that my anger was that famous." Johnny says with a laugh.

"Johnny, your reputation for anger is almost as famous as my husband's reputation for killing Venomians." Lucy jokes. A smile crosses Scott's face. He wraps his arm around Lucy and pulls her in close to him and plants a kiss on her cheek. Vivian, sitting in Lucy's lap, laughs and wraps her arms around her father's neck and squeezes tight. Though it's difficult to breathe, Scott doesn't stop the young toddler. The hare/ fox is too cute for him to push away.

"Hey Johnny, what do you say if you and I spare sometime just to see which one of us is better?"

"Maybe some other time. I don't want to hurt that leg of yours."

Scott can't help but laugh. Though he knows that Johnny is right. The injury that crushed his leg too years ago is too much of an advantage for Johnny. Scott is still trying to get used to the mechanical assistance he uses to help him walk.

Johnny nearly jumps at the feel of a soft, but firm hand on his shoulder. He turns around and spots a familiar fennec standing behind him and an infant in her arms. "You're getting better at sneaking up on me Fara."

"I had a good teacher." Fara answers as she takes a seat next to her husband. Fara offers the baby to Johnny. Johnny carefully uses his right arm to support the newborn and cradles her.

"What did you name her Fara?" Fay asks.

"Alisha, after Johnny's grandmother who is no longer with us."

"I like the name."

A sudden knock on the door changes the mood of the room quickly. Everyone looks up except Johnny. He doesn't want to take his eyes off Jennifer.

"Don't worry everyone, I'll get it." Fara shouts sarcastically as she gets up.

Scott notices Johnny eyeing Fara's hips swaying as she walks past him. The tip of Fara's tail brushes against Johnny's nose, almost causing the large wolf to fall off the couch as he stares at her.

"Make sure that you keep it in your pants Johnny. There are kids in the room." Scott shouts as Johnny regains his composure.

"Look who's talking." Johnny bites back.

Bill and Fay look at each other, both completely surprised at the progress that Johnny and Scott have made to each towards each other in these past months. The two of them are like night and day. Johnny is a methodical, no nonsense person and Scott is one of the most sarcastic person that Bill and Fay know. Yet the two of them get along almost perfectly.

"Maybe they offset each other's personalities." Fay guesses.

"Possibly, or maybe they drive each other so crazy that they can get along." Bill jokes.

Johnny watches Fara open the door and the water bottle she's holding hit the floor as she opens it. The cap busts off and water splashes on the floor. Johnny's known Fara over a decade, seen her in dozens of dogfights and Black Op missions, and not once has she ever frozen like this.

"What is it Fara?" Johnny stands up and walks towards the door. What he sees standing at the front door makes him almost drop Alisha.

A sobbing, blue furred vixen dressed in a blue dress stands in front of Johnny and Fara. She's cradling what looks like to be a blanket. Johnny and Fara look closer and see that in the blanket is a little baby.

"Krystal what are you doing here?" Johnny says at a complete loss for words.

"Sorry Johnny, I know what you said but I didn't know where to turn. Can I please come in?"

"Of course you can. Get the baby out of the cold. You can explain everything once you are comfortable."

"Thank you Johnny."

Krystal runs inside past a stunned Fara and Johnny. She ignores the stare from everyone as she plops down on the couch next to Scott and Lucy. Johnny and Fara walk back to their previous seats but don't immediately sit down. They watch as Krystal cradles her child, making sure that the baby is comfortable and alright. Several minutes go by without anyone saying a word.

"Ok, I'm just going to ask what everyone is thinking." Scott blurts out, breaking the silence. "Krystal, what the hell happened to you?"

"Scott don't be rude." Lucy scolds Scott.

"It's ok Lucy. I deserve all of it and more."

Scott looks over Krystal's arms as she is looking at Fara. Krystal has the baby completely covered in the blanket, except for its face. From what Scott can tell the baby is a blue furred fox like his mother but has the facial features of a particular famous vulpine that everyone knows.

"Krystal, please don't tell that Panther is the father."

"No it's not Panther's child." Johnny answers for Krystal. Krystal looks up at Johnny stunned. He hasn't even gotten a good glance at the baby yet. How could he possibly know that it isn't Panther's?

"The boy doesn't have Panther's stench. He has Fox's scent instead. So that leads to me to believe that Fox is the father." Johnny explains.

"_Damn your sense of smell Johnny._"

Krystal lowers her head ashamed to admit the truth. "Yes, Fox is the father. I never had sex with Panther and never would."

"But that doesn't explain what happened Krystal." Fara asks trying to get right to the point.

"Well, it's a kind of long story. You see after Johnny and Scott left Sargasso it took me a month to realize that they were right. I wanted to leave Star Wolf but couldn't. I was afraid that they would try to kill me. So I stayed there for two months until I discovered that I was pregnant. I knew that I couldn't stay there with a baby. It wouldn't be safe for me or him. So I snuck out one night. Had to shoot out two guards to get away."

"Smart move Krystal. I was beginning to wonder when you would come to your senses. I just thought that it wouldn't take getting pregnant for you to realize it."

Fara roughly nudges Johnny in the shoulder. "Be nice to her Johnny."

"It's ok Fara. I can handle it." Krystal says with a tear in her eyes then continues. "After I left I thought about coming to you guys for help. But then I thought about what you said Johnny back on Sargasso, that I wasn't welcome. So I stayed away. Since then I've been moving around from hotel to hotel."

"What, you thought that I wouldn't accept you Krystal." Johnny shouts. "Krystal, I know it's what I said but if I had known that you were with child I would not have hesitated to take you in."

Krystal breaks down crying. The sounds of her crying brings Daniel, Jennifer, and Ashley in running. Upon seeing Krystal, Daniel takes off running to her. He almost jumps in her arms but stops when he sees the baby.

"Aunt Krystal, what are you doing here?" Daniel shouts, waking the baby.

Instead of crying the baby looks around at everyone and smiles. Daniel walks up to the baby and lightly strokes his cheeks. The baby laughs and lightly grabs Daniel's finger forming a bond between the two cousins. Johnny stands up and walks over to Daniel, carrying Jennifer, and lays his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Your aunt is going to be staying with us until she gets back on her feet again." Johnny answers.

Krystal jumps up and hugs Johnny's neck. "Thank you Johnny, thank you. I owe you so."

"You don't owe me anything Krystal. Just take care of him." Johnny says as he looks down at the kit.

"I will Johnny." Krystal let's go of Johnny's neck. She gives him a quick kiss on the cheek, despite Fara sitting nearby. Krystal watches Johnny blush. She can see Fara laughing.

"You have all of our support Krystal." Lucy speaks up. "I can talk to my dad about getting you into the military."

"If you want Krystal you can fly under my command." Bill adds. "I'll make sure that you are taken care of."

"Thank you both. But I'll need time to wean my child and get settled before I do anything. I know that I have a lot of money saved up from my time with Star Fox. At least a fifty grand. But when I left Star Wolf they froze my accounts. I cannot access any of my money."

"That's not going to be a problem Krystal." Fara answers. "I'll contact my father tomorrow and we will sort everything out."

"Thank you everyone. It means so much to me that you would do this for me."

Johnny lays his large hand on Krystal's shoulder. He looks her in the eyes.

"Krystal, you are family. I would do anything for you and for this little guy." Johnny touches the baby's nose and the little guy laughs at the lupine's touch.

"Thank you Johnny. And I forgive you for being rough with me all those months ago. I know that you did it for the right reasons. It definitely worked. I was going to leave Star Wolf before I found out that I was with child."

"You're welcome Krystal. You are welcome at my house anytime."

Krystal whips the tear from her cheeks. She turns so she can see everyone her. "I know that I'm asking a lot from you guys but I want you to do one last for me."

"Anything Krystal, what is it?" Lucy asks.

"I need you to keep my child a secret from the public and Fox. If the public were the find out it'd be a feeding frenzy. I don't want to put my son through that."

"Understandable, but what about Fox. Don't you think that he needs to know that he has a child?"

"I'll tell him myself, eventually. Right now I just don't think that I have the stomach, or patience to tell him. I know that the right thing to do is to tell him but I am still mad at him. I don't think that now is the best time. I've been through a lot recently. Giving birth to my son in a hotel room was not how I thought my life would be going right now. It took a lot out of me. I promise everyone that I will tell Fox when I'm ready."

"Krystal, you know that you are asking a lot from us. I don't think that I can do this." Fara says.

"Fara, please do this for me."

Fara stands there debating in herself whether or not to agree to Krystal's plea. She knows that Krystal is being very stubborn, it's in her nature, especially around Fox. After what she's been through, the man she loved, and was engaged to, forcing her off the team, she deserves to be mad. But this is something else. Fara just thought, and hoped and after spending the last few months living from hotel to hotel and giving birth, that Krystal would at least swallow her pride and tell Fox about his son.

Fara sighs, "Ok Krystal, I will not tell Fox. I believe that what you are doing is not right but it is your problem. Unlike my husband here," Fara throws her arms around Johnny, "I believe that you will eventually make the right decision."

"Thank you so much everyone."

"You're welcome Krystal." Fara replies as she strokes the little kit's cheek and gets a smile in return.

No one says a word for the longest time. The thought of Krystal having a child is a lot to take in. Add on the fact that Krystal's probably not going to tell Fox anytime soon is almost too much to bear. But no one says anything. They just look at Krystal as she cuddles her son in her arms.

"I got to ask Krystal," Johnny speaks up, breaking the silence, "what did you name him?"

"Marcus, Marcus McCloud."

The end.

* * *

Well that's all of the story. Johnny and Scott kicked a lot of ass, (including Panther's whose ass I want to see kicked), and run into Wolf and Fara (clone). Krystal has a baby and Fox is definitely the father. But Krystal is still too mad at Fox to tell him. At least she has friends to turn to.

BTW, in case you are wondering (or haven't read my story Star Fox: Unknown Son I) Krystal waits two years to tell Fox about Marcus.

I know that the story was short and if you haven't read my Star Ghost series (Annihilation, Origins: Love and War, and/or Avengers) or my Unknown Son stories then you might have a few questions. If you have any questions please ask. As I stated earlier I will answer them to the best of my ability.

BTW, at the moment I am going through a dilemma. I am two planned projects in the work, not including my "Star Ghost II: Avengers" story. One is my story "Ending Kursed's Curse" story and the other is "Unknown Son II." I am trying to decide which to do, while I'm also working on "Star Ghost: Avengers II." I can do two stories at one, but not three, it would be too much. Any help on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

Please leave a review. I honestly want to know what you think of the story and how I can improve it.

Hope that you enjoyed the story. This is John Storm signing off. Star Frosty ya'll.


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